UPSC Optional - Public Administration Thinker - MAX WEBER(1864-1920)

 

Max Weber

UPSC Optional Notes Free Download - Public Administration Thinker 

MAX WEBER(1864-1920)

 Notable work : “The Protestant Ethic” and “The Spirit of Capitalism”in connection to historical

Industrial Revolution..

 He had given the functions and rational meaning of BUREAUCRACY.

 Bureau is a French word which means a table, an office or even a department transacting

business, whereas “cracy” greek word, meaning government rule. So literally it becomes as

government ruling from office.

 Hence it means a body of officials assigned with the exercise of powers organized on a

constitutional basis who are independent of a kind or any head.

 Bureaucracy term was coined by Jaques Claude Marie Vincent deGourney.

 Types of authority:

1. Traditional-Obey me because this is what our people have always done

2. Charismatic-Obey me because I can transform your life.

3. Legitimate- Obey me because  I am your lawfully appointed superior

 Fundamental beliefs of Bureaucracy:

- Written obligations.

- No scope of arbitration, rule of law

- No one is above law

- Person holding authority must be unbiased and just

- Members of organizations obey impersonal orders by default of the position, not the person

 Principles of bureaucracy –

- Governed by rules

- Division of work with proportional division of authority and responsibility

- Hierarchical structure

- Hiring Skilled and competent personnel

- A complete absence of appropriation of official position by incumbent. A classic eg of M.

Visvesvaraya (Indian Engineer) who always used to carry two pens, one belonged to govt and

other for personal purpose.

- Institutional memory, written records

- Permanent Career, with salaries, promotions on the basis of merit or seniority

 Features:

- Precision

- Reliability

- Discipline

- Speed

- Continuous improvements through trainings

- Operational uniformity

- Discretion

- Reduction of friction

- Official secrecy- keeping knowledge and motives of bureaucrat secretive

 Limitations of Rule by officials

- Collegiality- takes more time in decision making

- Separation of powers- Compromise could be made by involved bodies

- Amateur administration- Unremunerated activity where govt depends upon administrators

- Direct democracy- Accountability towards people

- Representation- Ruling those who elect them, free to take decisions

Criticism of Max Weber:

 Weber has emphasized on office than the officer

 Non-compatibility of model to ecological context of different countries and changing times

 Robert K Merton criticized on the grounds that’s emphasis on adhering to rules results in

inefficiency rather rules are for maximizing efficiency, must emphasis more on ends rather than on

means.

 Bhattacharya explains formal aspects(hierarchy, rigid rules) become more important than

substantive one(service to people) hence whole system suffers from rationality